A subsidiary of Pou Chen, the world’s largest maker of branded sports shoes, will invest Rs 2,302 crore ($280.86 million) to set up a manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu, the Indian state government said on Monday.

Taiwanese footwear makers with brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance and Timberland manufactured and shipped more than 272 million pairs of shoes globally in fiscal 2022, an increase of nearly 14% year-on-year. It already has factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

“We hope this will be the first of many investments (in India),” said Baocheng vice-president George Liu with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The investment, which will create about 20,000 jobs in Tamil Nadu over 12 years, comes almost a year after Taiwanese peer Hong Fook Group signed a deal to invest Rs 1,000 crore in footwear production in the southern state.

Tamil Nadu has accounted for 45% of India’s footwear exports over the past five years. Many brands, including Giorgio Armani and Gucci, manufacture products or source raw materials from the state, according to reports from government agencies.

Other global names such as Apple suppliers Foxconn, Salcomp and Pegatron have also been ramping up production in Tamil Nadu and the broader country as they shift their manufacturing footprint from China and Taiwan to other countries.

Separately, Pou Chen plans to cut about 6,000 jobs at its Ho Chi Minh City plant in Vietnam due to sluggish demand, Reuters reported in February, citing two local officials.